Penoplex to expand XPS insulation output in Russia

By: Eugene Gerden

September 27, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (Sept. 27, 11:05 a.m. ET) – Penoplex Holding, one of Russia’s leading producers of insulation based on extruded polystyrene (XPS), is considering a significant expansion of its domestic production capacities in the coming years.

According to the company’s plans, by May 2013, two new production lines will be launched at the company’s factories in Perm and Kirishi (St. Petersburg region). The capacity of each line will be 1,500 kg/h, while total volume of investments in the project will exceed 10 million euros ($12.8 million).

Total production capacity of the company after the commissioning of the new lines will reach 2.32 million cubic meters of insulation per year.

Currently Penoplex operates seven plants for the production of insulation in Russia and the CIS region. The company’s proposed plants would be in Kirishi, Novosibirsk, Perm, Taganrog, Kapchagai (Kazakhstan), Cheremkhovo (Irkutsk region) and Khabarovsk.

Russian analysts believe that the company may gain significant benefits after the expansion of its production, taking into account that Russia currently remains one of the world’s largest consumers of thermal insulation materials. The country accounts for 4 percent of global consumption of all types of insulation materials, according to data from the Russian analytical agency Discovery Research Group.

For example, last year, the volume of the Russian market of insulation materials reached 26.5 million cubic meters, equivalent to more than 80 billion rubles ($2.57 billion). And, according to analysts’ predictions, the market will continue to grow during the next several years.